Heli operations were not always divine journeys in Chardham (A PN Special)

PrashantNews

Cracking the whip, the Uttarakhand government on Sunday suspended all the helicopter operations in the Chardham area till Monday in the Garhwal region as a safety precaution in the wake of a series of mishaps in the recent past.

The operations of Aryan Aviation whose helicopter crashed on Sunday morning killing seven people in the Gaurikund jungles were also suspended for an indefinite period. An FIR has also been lodged against the Aryan Aviation at Sonprayag police station.

Licences of two pilots Capt Yogesh Grewal and Capt Jitendra Harjai have also been suspended for six months for operating in unsuitable conditions.

Taking serios view of these mishaps, a worried Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami directed the civil aviation department to prepare a tough SOP for the smooth operations of these helicopters in the Chardham especially for Kedarnath.  The Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) will establish a dedicated command and control Room to monitor real-time operations. The DGCA has also been asked to monitor all the helicopter operations closely.

The government has been compelled to take all these strong actions only after a series of helicopter mishaps since the Chardham yatra began in April end. The crash of the London-bound Air India flight at Ahmedabad which killed 241 people on board and many others in the medical hostel where it fell was also a cause of big concern in the civil aviation sector.

But the most worrisome scene was for the helicopter operations for the Chardham yatra where even boarding a helicopter was not an easy task due to lack of guidelines and SOPs. Operating a chopper in the turbulent weather conditions was another worry.

In most of the time when pilgrims would board the choppers, pilots don’t get enough time to stop rotors which is mandatory for safety reasons. A pilot of a helicopter carrying Defence Minister Rajnath Singh was killed by a rotor in Khatima area of Udhamsingh Nagar more than two decades ago.

An official statement issued by the union Civil Aviation Ministry on Sunday confirmed that the ill-fated Aryan Aviation Bell 407 helicopter took off at 0519 hours for Guptkashi within just one minute of landing at Kedarnath helipad at 0518 hours.  This means that the helicopter got only one minute of landing at Kedarnath before it was airborne for its fateful journey for the crash.

But the big question arises whether a helicopter can land and take off at a helipad in just one minute?

When the pilgrims are catching a flight to Kedarnath from Fata or Guptkashi, a scuffle is often seen just like the people often witness in the crammed Delhi roadways buses.

The moment the chopper lands at the helipad, the pilgrims generally rush to catch the flight as if they will miss it and someone else will take their seat.

The helicopter operators are mostly dependent on the local weather conditions and their own wisdoms. “We don’t give them any separate weather bulletin,” a top met officer said.

“These helicopter operations are very chaotic and dangerous. We are hopeful that the government will now take all safety measures for the smooth operations of these helicopters,” said Anoop Nautiyal, a social activist.

Earlier, several helicopters were either crashed or made emergency landings in the state causing big concern. A helicopter going to Gangotri crashed in Uttarkashi district killing six people on May 8. Another helicopter going to Kedarnath made an emergency landing on the road due to some technical snag on June 7. On May 17, a helicopter broke its tail after crashlanding at Kedarnath.

Congress leader Suryakant Dhasmana expressed concern over these incidents and asked the government to take remedial steps immediately.